Cyclone Upset Bid Comes Up Just Short At No. 6 Neb

LINCOLN, Neb. - The Iowa State gymnastics team nearly upset No. 6 Nebraska
Friday at the Devaney Center, but the Cyclones had to settle for career nights
from their senior all-around competitors Celine Paulus and Michelle Browning. Nebraska
won the team competition 196.175-195.700 after the Cyclones led following the
first three rotations in Iowa State's regular-season finale.

Paulus tallied 9.900 on three events (vault, bars and floor)
en route to a career-high 39.500 score in the all-around, the highest mark in
the all-around by a Cyclone since Janet Anson's 39.550 on March 23, 2007.
Paulus was also the first Iowa State (5-7 overall, 0-2 Big 12) gymnast to
register 9.900 or higher on three events since Anson on March 31, 2007. Paulus shared
top honors on floor at the event.

Reigning Big 12 Gymnast of the Year Browning produced her
best outing as a Cyclone with a career-high 39.425 score in the all-around. Browning was consistently impressive all
night with scores of 9.850 (bars), 9.850 (vault), 9.875 (floor) and 9.850
(beam). Browning's 9.850 beam score
earned her top honors on the apparatus.

"Michelle Browning is back to her regular self in
competition and that's what we've been waiting for this season," Iowa State
head coach Jay Ronayne said. "I told Celine after the first meet this season
that she could score a 39.5, and it was just a matter of time. I am excited it
happened now, and she can have even more confidence going into the championship
season."

Nebraska's (12-2 overall) Janelle Giblin won the vault and
bars titles with scores of 9.950.
Browning won beam (9.850) and Paulus shared the floor crown with the
Huskers' Jessie DeZiel (9.900). Giblin went on to edge Paulus for the
all-around title with a score of 39.525.

"We had three very solid events," Ronaye said. "We had some
impressive performances from some individuals that weren't really suprising but
we knew they were capable of doing it.
We put Shea in on vault with a vault she has only been training for
three weeks and that's something we need as a team to feel comfortable with on
our vault squad heading into the postseason."

Iowa State got off to a fantastic start by tallying 49.000
on bars, its second-highest score on the apparatus this season. Paulus led the
way with a career-high-tying 9.900.
Browning delivered a score of 9.850 and sophomore Michelle Shealy produced
a season-high 9.800. It marked the second time this season the Cyclones have
had three gymnasts score 9.800 or higher on the event.

For the second event Iowa State notched a season-high 49.125
on vault that was highlighted by Paulus' second 9.900 of the evening. Browning
delivered her second 9.850 of the night, a season high for the senior. Senior
Shea Anderson produced a career-high-tying 9.850 on the apparatus, while
freshman Caitlin Brown had her second-best score on vault in her young career
with a 9.800. Iowa State's 49.125 was
its second-highest score on any event this season, just barely behind the
Cyclones' 49.175 tally they registered against Minnesota on Feb. 26. The
Cyclones' team score was its highest on the apparatus since a 49.150 tally at
Nebraska on March 14, 2010.

The Cyclones did not cool off in their third rotation with a
49.075 team score on floor. Paulus made it three-straight 9.900s with her 9.900
score on floor. Browning tied her season-high score with a 9.875 and junior
co-captain Elizabeth Stranahan chipped in with a 9.800.

Iowa State competed on beam for the final rotation and was
forced to count a fall en route to a 48.500 team tally. In addition to Browning's
9.850, Iowa State had strong tallies from Brown (9.825) and Paulus (9.800).
Brown's score matched her top career effort.

The Cyclones begin post-season action in their next meet
with a trip to Norman Okla., for the Big 12 Championship. Iowa State will face
Oklahoma and Missouri March 24 at the Lloyd Noble Center. The meet is scheduled
to begin at 4 p.m. CDT. and will be shown on tape delay on Fox Sports Networks.